Electricity North West is bringing forward more than £20 million of investment, including £8 million in Greater Manchester, to provide immediate support for projects which will drive a green recovery from Covid-19.

The investment is part of Ofgem’s Green Recovery scheme, launched to kick start the recovery by speeding up the delivery of shovel-ready projects.

Electricity North West first announced it had identified a number of possible projects in February, when it launched a public consultation to help it prioritise £15m of investments across the region.

Following that consultation, however, the business, which is responsible for maintaining the north west’s electricity network, has now brought forward a further £5m in investment so that it can deliver a total of 11 projects, all geared to helping the region hit its net zero carbon targets.

The consultation highlighted a demand for electric vehicle charging points at motorway services, including at Birch. Elsewhere, it is to start work immediately on schemes to facilitate electric heating in Greater Manchester, to monitor the use of low-carbon technologies in Godley Green Garden Village and to reinforce the network around the Mayfield Depot area of Manchester City Centre.

Electricity North West is also to create a £1 million fund to support EV charging hubs along major A-roads across the region.

Meanwhile, the company’s Pre-Sense project will help it monitor demand on the region’s low-voltage network, allowing it to optimise capacity to support the adoption of low-carbon technologies like heat pumps and EVs.

Peter Emery, CEO of Electricity North West, said: “The race is on for the UK to hit its environmental targets and to succeed, we need to act now.

“The disruption caused by Covid-19 also requires an immediate response and we are determined to make the environment the focus by building back better.

“By bringing forward some of these projects, we will power up the green recovery and help lead the north west towards net zero.”

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